Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is where carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from power stations and industrial processes is captured at source, rather than escaping into the atmosphere and adding to global warming.

The captured CO2 is then transported and stored, often deep underground.

This is slightly different to carbon removal, which involves using the natural world – such as tree planting – or machines, in order to suck out CO2 that is already in the air, and store it.

Around 45 commercial carbon capture and storage facilities are in operation worldwide, together capturing more than 50 million tonnes of CO2 each year, according to the International Energy Agency.

That may sound a lot - but global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry currently sit at more than 35 billion tonnes per year.

So carbon capture currently makes very little difference to global CO2 emissions.

But both the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UK’s Climate Change Committee see the technology as part of efforts to reach net zero.

The technology could be particularly important for decarbonising some heavy industry such as cement production, for which there are currently few obvious alternatives.

Read the full article here: Will carbon capture help the UK fight climate change? (bbc.com)